About

Short bio (download)

Calliope Tsoupaki is a Greek-Dutch composer living in Amsterdam. Her compositions blend Eastern and Western influences into a contemplative and spiritual whole. Drawing from her Greek heritage and her passion for both early and contemporary music, her works produce a distinctly personal, open, transparent, and impassioned sound characterised by a remarkable timelessness.

Born in 1963 in Piraeus, Greece, Tsoupaki began her studies at the Hellinicon Conservatory in Athens and continued her composition studies in the Netherlands with Louis Andriessen. Since 2007, she has taught composition at the Royal Conservatoire in The Hague. Her oeuvre comprises more than 150 works, ranging from solo and chamber music to orchestral works, dance, theatre, opera and multimedia projects.

Her music is praised for its melodic quality, warm sound and emotional depth. The New York Times described her work as “dizzyingly beautiful”, while the Dutch magazine TM referred to her as the “Monteverdi of the 20th century”. Her St. Luke Passion received wide acclaim at the Holland Festival in 2008.

From November 2018 to November 2021, Tsoupaki served as Composer Laureate of the Netherlands (Componist der Nederlanden). In 2021, she was awarded the Matthijs Vermeulen Composition Prize for Thin Air, which has since been performed more than 50 times by musicians around the world. In 2026, she is awarded the Johan Wagenaar Composition Oeuvre Prize in recognition of her outstanding contribution to Dutch musical life and her extensive body of work.

Long bio (download)

Calliope Tsoupaki (Piraeus, Greece, 1963) is a Greek-Dutch composer based in Amsterdam. Her music brings together elements of early and contemporary music with musical traditions from Greece and the Middle East. Her work is characterised by melodic strength, a warm sound and an open, timeless quality. The New York Times described her music as “dizzyingly beautiful”, while the Dutch magazine TM called her the “Monteverdi of the 20th century”.

Tsoupaki has composed more than 150 works, ranging from solo and chamber music to orchestral works, opera, dance, theatre and multimedia projects. Her music has been commissioned and performed by major ensembles and orchestras, including the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Metropole Orchestra, Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, Netherlands Bach Society, Asko| Schönberg Ensemble, Nieuw Amsterdams Peil, Ensemble Tetraktys, Neue Vocalsolisten Stuttgart and Moscow Contemporary Music Ensemble. She has collaborated with artists including Pierre Audi, Markus Stenz, Paul Koek, Jordi Savall, Pekka Kuusisto, Karina Canellakis, Kees Boeke and Frances-Marie Uitti.

Her major works include the operas Mariken in the Garden of Delights, Fortress Europe, Dark and Vita Nova; the St. Luke Passion; Oidipous; Narcissus; Maria for the Netherlands Wind Ensemble; the song cycle Face of Love; and the string quartet cycle Triptychon, recorded by the Doelen String Quartet. Her St. Luke Passion received wide acclaim at the Holland Festival in 2008.

Her works have been presented at the Holland Festival, November Music, Gaudeamus and Focus Festival New York, and in major venues including Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Muziekgebouw aan ’t IJ, Royal Theater Carré and Megaron Athens. Her music is published by Donemus and is available on CD and DVD.

Tsoupaki has received numerous commissions and has participated in the Holland Festival in 2008, 2010, 2014, 2015, 2018 and 2021. She was guest composer at the International Young Composers Meeting in Apeldoorn in 2005, 2018 and 2024, and served on the jury of the International Gaudeamus Music Week in 2006, 2015 and 2021. She was composer in residence at the Sweelinck Conservatorium Amsterdam (2001) and at the IEMA Centre for Contemporary Music in Athens (1998).

Her distinctions include nominations for the NPS Cultural Prize (1997), the International Rostrum of Composers for Sappho’s Tears (1996), and the Matthijs Vermeulen Prize for Oidipous (2014) and Mariken in the Garden of Delights (2017). In 2021 she received the Matthijs Vermeulen Composition Prize for Thin Air, a work expressing solidarity and compassion during the pandemic. Thin Air has since been performed more than 50 times in different versions and by musicians around the world.

From November 2018 to November 2021, Tsoupaki served as Composer Laureate of the Netherlands (Componist der Nederlanden).

Her orchestral work Aurora, commissioned for the Netherlands Radio Choir and the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, was premiered by Karina Canellakis on 15 September 2023 at TivoliVredenburg in Utrecht. The work is based on Tsoupaki’s own text, inspired by the names of boats involved in rescuing refugees in the Mediterranean.

In 2024 she composed Falling, commissioned by Phion Orchestra and premiered on 8 March 2024 under Alexei Ogrintchouk at the Orpheus Theatre in Apeldoorn. In 2025, her orchestral work Another Day, commissioned by the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra for the 750th anniversary of Amsterdam, was premiered at the Concertgebouw on 6, 7 and 8 March.

In 2026, Tsoupaki was awarded the prestigious Johan Wagenaar Composition Oeuvre Prize, recognising her contribution to Dutch composition and her extensive body of work. The award ceremony takes place on 16 October 2026 at Amare in The Hague during a concert by the Residentie Orkest. Tsoupaki has lived and worked in the Netherlands since 1988 and has taught composition at the Royal Conservatoire in The Hague since 2007.